Category — Atlanta Falcons

With coaching vacancies around the NFL — Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, most notably — the hot name on everyone’s list is, once again, Pete Carroll. The current head coach of USC, arguably the hottest college football team in the nation, despite letdowns, always seems to be in talks this time of year as teams search for the next big NFL head coach.

The problem? Carroll is a god in Southern California. Perhaps the most widely recognized coach in college football, Carroll has built a legacy and put SoCal back on the map in a big way. Year in and out his teams enter the season ranked first in the nation and find themselves in the middle of a BCS Bowl.

According to reports from ESPN and now the AP, Bill Parcells is considering a position with the Atlanta Falcons which would basically give him the power to hire a new head coach for the Atlanta Falcons after Bobby Petrino walked out on the team last week. Parcells would likely be a fine candidate because of his experience and his network of resources is fairly widespread.

Interestingly, Parcells could, if he wanted, name himself the head coach. But given the nature of the team — its talent — it would be surprising if he did so. Besides, being let go by the Dallas Cowboys probably left a bitter taste in his mouth and, while coaching there, he didn’t appear to enjoy the work. At his age, rebuilding a team from scratch — which is about where the Falcons are at this point — may not be the best idea.

Bobby Petrino might be considered a sellout, exiting after a disastrous season with the Atlanta Falcons — a position he originally regarded as a “dream job” — and bolting for Arkansas. It doesn’t help matters that he left during the NFL season. But whether or not he’s a sellout, his leaving already impacts the NFL draft.

Unlike Chicago, where Brian Griese will be replaced by Grossman since the latter’s game-winning performance, Atlanta doesn’t treat quarterbacks based on their latest performances. If they did, Bobby Petrino wouldn’t have proclaimed Byron Leftwich the team’s starter as soon as he’s healthy.

“We made the decision a while back that Byron is the starter and Joey is the backup,” said Petrino after practice. “Right now, it’s just a health issue.”

The move is surprising mainly because Joey Harrington is coming off two consecutive wins, including a week 10 performance in which he posted a 106.6 quarterback rating against the Carolina Panthers. It’s also surprising Petrino told the media before he alerted Harrington.

Bobby Petrino has a message: decent isn’t good enough.

At least that’s how many are interpreting his decision to replace Joey Harrington in the lineup, despite Harrington’s 80+ quarterback rating. The Atlanta head coach came to the decision after watching his offense stumble through another loss, pushing the Falcons’ overall record to 1-5.

“That’s the big part of it,” the coach said. “We need to make a change and get something going.”

Harrington has thrown 4 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions this season in 195 attempts. Byron Leftwich, widely considered a disappointment in the eyes of the Jacksonville faithful, has thrown 8 passes this season and one interception. His rating: a 2.1. Granted, that’s not a fair measuring stick in this instance, but the point is obvious: neither quarterback is a great option. Petrino might want to spark his offense, but I’m not sure Leftwich is the answer.

Sorry, Michael Vick. You aren’t getting any special treatment. On the contrary, you’re being made an example.

In a hearing today, the court initially ruled that Vick would need to begin preparing for trial to begin October 4. After a little whining from Vick’s team of lawyers, the judge — not sympathetic — ruled that trial will be pushed back 8 weeks, to November 26. Vick’s lawyers were hoping for something more like 8 months.

Vick also heard the dismal news from his prosecutors: “We’ve already charged you with serious crimes. You might want to consider a guilty plea. We are going to file more charges next month. That gives you a few weeks to think about the guilty plea. If you come and talk to us about pleading guilty and testifying for us, there will be no more charges against you. If you do not, the charges and the potential punishment will grow quickly.”

Miami’s Joey Porter came close to avoiding Commissioner Roger Goodell’s wrath after a Las Vegas scuffle with Cincinnati’s Levi Jones several months ago. And in one respect he did avoid it. But the Commissioner is not one to let something like this go; not after suspending Pacman Jones, someone who was suspended the entire season on the basis of allegations — granted, it was 10 allegations over two years.

So, despite not suspending Porter, the NFL has opted to instead fine him three game checks, more than $140 thousand.

Ouch.

And, unfortunately, the NFL’s timing couldn’t be much worse with the Vick haters already outraged that the NFL has taken the “wait-and-see” approach in the quarterback’s case. It appears the league will take no action against Vick, though it is plausible the Falcons will send Vick home on a paid absence while he deals with his allegations.

With news headlines dominated by a certain recently indicted quarterback, it’s refreshing to see another in search of a team willing to give him a fresh start.

That quarterback of course is Daunte Culpepper, previously released by the Miami Dolphins, who has spent some time contacting interested teams and working out. The most recent of these is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, though they already have a pair of highly paid quarterbacks on their roster — Chris Simms and Jeff Garcia — making it doubtful he’ll end up there.

But, then again, with Jon Gruden (a.k.a. Chucky) still steering the ship, you never know what will happen.

Other teams rumored to be interested in the 30 year old quarterback include the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons.

With the dogfighting allegations and more recently his indictment, Michael Vick is being dropped down on owners’ draft boards.

Don’t let him drop off yours.

Speaking from a statistical standpoint, if Vick avoids injury you can expect him to put up great numbers. While they may not be consistent, they will make him a decent starting quarterback and a strong number two on your team’s depth chart.

Last season he managed to finish fourth among all quarterbacks in fantasy points. The season before he finished 10th and before that 12th. Assuming your league has 12 teams, Vick would have been a worthy starter each of those seasons.

Now, moving on from the numbers game, you’re probably asking, What about his suspension?

Michael Vick has officially been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the recent dogfighting probe of his Virginia home.

The grand jury indictment charges that Vick and co-defendants Pernell Peach, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor spent six years “knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting in an animal fighting venture.”

The latest I have heard is that it will be hard for Vick to be convicted this season. Unfortunately for the quarterback, it won’t be hard for Roger Goodell to suspend him, even on suspicion alone.

This is not Vick’s first off-field incident this season. We all remember the water bottle incident (seriously, who has a secret compartment in their Dasani?). He was acquitted in that case, but he may not walk away unscathed this time.